Smashing Newsletter

Times do change and so do the concepts of what to expect in the future. We would like to share with you a collection of retro futuristic designs and tutorials that will inspire you for your future creations. If you like the designs, please take the time to visit the sites of the artist/ designer by clicking on the illustration or title.

Concepts of the future for the way we live our lives have been expressed in forms of art, design, movies, comics, and even cartoons. For many decades before man even landed on the Moon, people have been fascinated with space and the endless possibilities it could bring. The future is not only about being in space, though it has a major influence, it lies within your innovative minds and skills as the designer and artist. So, whether you go back into the past or here in the present, the future is all that we envision.

It wasn’t too many years ago when amazing tools such as 3ds Max, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or even Corel Draw weren’t around. Illustrations were drawn by hand using chalks, colored pencils, paints, and pens. With typography, you could find artists/ designers also using fountain pens or calligraphy pens with a large variety of nibs, along with bottles of colored ink. Even today, you will still find designers and architects who use tools such as the t-square, triangular scales, triangle, french curve, and of course, your basic compass.

Times do change and so do the concepts of what to expect in the future. We would like to share with you a collection of retro futuristic designs and tutorials that will inspire you for your future creations. If you like the designs, please take the time to visit the sites of the artist/ designer by clicking on the illustration or title.

Beautiful Retro Futuristic Artworks

The Apple Store That Almost Was
Before there was the Apple Store that we know and love today, there was the Apple Cafe — well, almost. On November 12, 1996, Apple announced plans to open a chain of cybercafes around the globe. State-of-the-art, even by today’s standards, Apple Cafes promised health-conscious food (served up via a high-tech ordering system), video conferencing with neighboring diners, and on-demand access of movies and music videos. A screenshot from an old promo gives us a few clues as to how some of this might have worked.

Tutorials

Creating The New Retro
Graphic designer James White shows you how to give retro-style graphics your own modern-day spin.

Speed Lightning Effect
This tutorial will show you how to manipulate natural lighting to fill a motion filled scene. Use masks to blend the effect over a car image to make the car appear to be in motion.

How to Make Retro Futuristic Curves in 10 Steps
In this tutorial, you will learn how to achieve the space like scenery with the glowing lines. Using Illustrator and Photoshop you?ll learn how to add subtle effects using textures and different blending modes.

Futuristic Abstract Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a futuristic abstract poster design using layer styles, shapes and ‘space’ effects.

Steampunk Style Illustration
In this tutorial, you will be using light sources, shadows, and image grading to go back in time with this design.